Kaman says he'll go tonight, according to reports in the Los Angeles Times. That's an enormous relief, provided the sore ankle won't hamper him offensively. One thing to consider is that, of Camby's 14 field goals attempts Monday night, only 3 were in the paint - all of those successful, though one was an offensive rebound/put-back.

It's a testimony to Kaman's growth that I'm sitting here worried about how the Clippers will defend Denver inside with Chris hobbled (and knowing that he's not exactly Ben Wallace or even Jason Collins), even though Camby isn't a guy who can do tremendous damage on the block. Still, it's helpful to remember that EB, at 6'7½" is generally outsized at the 4. The good news is that neither Elson nor Reggie Evans is much of a threat at the offensive end.

The bad news, as it's been all series long, comes on the defensive glass. If a healthy Kaman and Brand can't do the job against Camby and Evans (who combined for 7 offensive rebounds and 22 total on Monday night), what's it going to look like in Denver's building if Kaman can't land on that ankle?

One way to combat the rebounding situation would be to make it up at the 3, but this means sacrificing Ross minutes and giving them to Maggette -- who's been terrific on the glass in this series -- and/or Singleton. You've got to play Ross his full 25-30, but look for Dunleavy to rotate in one of the rebounding SFs when he gives Chris some rest. Because a Ross/Brand/McCarty or Vlad/Brand/Rebraca frontcourt or any combination thereof is just asking for disaster on the boards.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

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If you're a defender chasing around a shooting guard, it's exceedingly difficult to get past a Tim Thomas screen. With Phoenix in the postseason, we saw how seemingly every possession for the Suns started with a Thomas high S/R, followed by either a fade or a dive/drag toward the basket. It's more effective in a frenetic offense, but the Clips don't use him enough [or he doesn't take enough initiative...who knows anymore?] on the strong side. Instead, the Clippers rely on this popular [and increasingly antiquated] notion that somehow, if Thomas stands out on the arc, he'll effectively "spread the floor," as if his defender can't sag if Cassell has dribbled to the far left corner -- where he traditionally likes to back down his defender --- or even if Elton has the ball in the low post against a much larger defender over whom he can't zip a pass out to the far side perimeter.

04/12/08 01:47:59

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